Preview - Rock of Ages

Preview

In the 80s, two wide eyed kids come to Los Angeles to make it big – with their romance borne along by the rock ballads of the decade.

Rock of Ages was born as an off-Broadway musical in 2006, and this year it’s getting the big screen treatment with an unlikely galaxy of big-name stars. Top of the list, naturally, is Tom Cruise who is on board as music superstar Stacee Jaxx. Cruise gets to pump out a bunch of real-life rock classics from bands like Bon Jovi, Journey and more in the movie, and he’s committed himself totally to the role – taking on singing lessons and wowing all and sundry with his surprising vocal talents along the way.

The film itself deals with Jaxx’s increasing disinterest in the excesses of the rock world, while also taking time to examine a young romance between relative newcomers Julianne Hough (a Dancing with the Stars vet who appeared in last year’s Footloose) and Mexican soap star Diego Boneta. Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical – a term we recently learned means that it mines previous musical hits rather than using its own material.

In addition to Hough and Boneta, Rock of Ages also features a surprising crop of seasoned veterans, including Paul Giamatti (who even gets a musical number), Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alec Baldwin who continues to show just how impressive a comedy actor he actually is, despite having the misfortune to be paired with Russell Brand.

Director Adam Shankman recently brought musical feature Hairspray to the world, in addition to directing a number of episodes of the strangely popular Glee. He worked on the screenplay the show’s original creator Chris D’Arienzo as well as Allan Loeb and Justin Theroux.